Over the last years , diet has changed considerably in Euopean countries. There is a new concern about diet that didn´t exist before: people can study new degrees and get jobs related to diet, you can find a cooking programme in every TV channel and everybody recognises names of groceries that were totally unkown not long ago. However, this change has not only been for good, new deseases related to food like food alergies and obesity, new doubts that affect food origine and quality and new problems like food waste and getting rid of litter have appeared on stage. Whenever there is a change in society, school must take up the responsability to educate pupils in that change. With this project we pretend to deal with various important challenges: - First, to address a hot topic like healthy diet and sustainable food. The project will provide students a practical learning that will help them become responsable citizens who compromise towards a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Pupils will learn about healthy diet, they will see the differences between ingredients and nutrients, they will understand better how their body works and what it needs to avoid certain deseases. Through this project we will start educating students in a wise consumption of food so they can better know what they have to take on acount for a healthy and sustainable shopping. We will also make them aware of the amount of food they usually waste as well as the litter they produce and will help them deal with that problem. - Second, to do it through an up-to-date methodolgical approach that gathers formal, non- formal and informal learning to develop all kinds of competences, focuses on a global work avoiding subject division and passive learning and that is closer to enterprising research than to a formal class. This active learning will include: researching ( reading, interviewing, visiting facilities, taking part in work shops...), organising information ( using srveys, charts, graphs, ...) , getting to conclusions ( producing hand outs, flyiers, guides...) , present their work ( using websites, ppt, prezi, written data...) and evaluating results ( surveys,meetings, self evaluation...). - Next, to add an extra value by working at the same time with other European schools so we have a wider overview and we can compare, learn from each other and live different situations showing on one hand, that distance is not a handicap for a cooperative work and on the other hand, the multiple benefits ( educational and personal) of travelling and working hand to hand with european mates. - Last, to make good use of any means at hand to achieve our objectives: community, visits, ict, workshops,books....This will guarantee the mix of formal non- formal and informal learning, will help develop basic and transversal skills and will strengthen links with community members and associations. With this project we expect pupils and families to acquire some good habits related to diet and food consumption. We understand that this is a long term objective that needs continus work, that is why, even when the project is finished, schools´ compromise towards health and sustainability will last and even increase by making of it a course of action that will somehow define our institutions..
With this project we wanted to develop students critical attitude towards a healthy and sustainable consumption of food overcoming the consumerism and helping them building a concious knowledge of what a balanced diet involves and the relevance of a wise shopping.Healthy diet and sustainability are both part of the school curriculum for Primary students and trending topics all partners were concerned about.These were the objectives addressed: -To become aware of what a healthy and sustainable diet involves -To analyze food labels and take that analysis into acount to buy the best option. -To make sound proposals to change into healthier and more sustainable habits related to food consumption. -To improve students basic and transversal skills as well as knowledge in the established curriculum. -To enable students to become involved in their own learning process through project work related to " real life" situations. -To involve the school community and other local agents in the achievment of common educational aims. -To work in colaboration with other European students to reach a common aim and promote European dimension. -To improve language skills in a foreing language. -To observe and analyze different teaching methods to develop more effective teaching-learning strategies. Six European schools were involved in the project: Each one of them contributed with a different profile that increased the value of the project by offering a diversity of helpful experiences: - 16 School Rayko Zhinzifov from Sofia ( Bulgaria).This school educates pupils from 1st to 8th grade and integrates children at risk of exclusion,migrants and children with special needs.That is why,they are able to cope with integration and eager to search into different inclusive methodolgical approaches. 67 DIMOTIKO SXOLEIO THESSALONIKIS from Thessalonikis (Greece),This Primary school holds about 200 students aged from 6 to 12.They teach a great percentage of migrants´ and refugees´ descendants with poor economy. The school had already been working on projects related to the topic and attending workshops and semminars. -Scoala Gimnaziala "MIRON COSTIN" from Galati ( Rumania), a large school with 1160 students aged 3 to14.They work in three shifts starting from 8 in the morning to 7 in the evening. Most students come from poor families with little or uncertain income , one parent families or families wth one or both parents working abroad. They also integrate children with disabilities .The institution contributed with their wide experience in European projects. -Zakladni skola Plana nad Luznici, okres Tabor from Planá nad Luznici ( Zcech Republic), The school provides education to students aged 6 to 15 with different social and economic background and different educational needs.The school is very concerned about implementing innovative methods to help students in their learning process. The topic of the project matched many subjects and project work in their school.. -Ozel Bilge Atabey Ortaokulu from Osmaniye (Turkey),a private institution who teaches about 505 students from 5 to 14.Specially concerned about educating sympathetic individuals who can ask, observe search and express themselves in a confident way, they offer a great range of after -school activities.They work in a close cooperation with parents and are opened to innovation and international cooperation. -Coordinating school ZUBIALDE HLHI from Zeberio( Basque Country- Spain),a small rural school with 100 students aged from 2 to 11 . Because it has so few pupils, children of two different levels study in the same class, that is why, the school has a wide experience in integration and is very concerned about methodological appraoches that take advantage of diversity and promote peer work and problem solving as a way to learn and experiment. Project activities involved:researching, making surveys,interviwing,experimenting, attending workshops,integrating different school subjects and field work.The first schoolyear we focused on presenting the project to the community, getting to know the partner schools, designing a mascot, making a diagnosis survey, learning about nutrients & Healthy Diet, preparing a healthy breakfast at school, recognising local, seasonable products, editing a recipe book and in some schools keeping a vegetable garden. On the second year we mainly concentrated on waste management. All the activities were recorded and shared in a comon wiki ( https://eatwise.wikispaces.com) which is abailable and public in the web. We also produced leaflets to disseminate project learnings and conclusions among the community and other institutions. Reusable shopping bags with the picture of the project mascot and the title of the project in the many languages were designed and delivered to the community. We consider that we have given a first step foward with this project and we all have the intention to continue working to change students´habits into healthier ones.